Jane Goodall always dreamed of studying animals in the wild jungles of Africa. When she was 26, she finally had the chance to go to Tanzania and study chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park. Today, the observation continues. Scientists record and analyze the behavior of the same chimpanzee families that Jane studied 40 years ago. In this book, Jane Goodall recalls how she met and became accepted by the chimps. She details how chimps communicate, tells the stories of two mothers and babies, and describes what life is like working with chimps in the forest. Finally, she describes how chimps are studied in captivity, and discusses their treatment in captivity. The book tells how you can protect the chimps, which are more like humans than any other living animal.

Signs of the Apes, Songs of the Whales: Adventures in Animal Communication — George Harrar

Published by Simon & Schuster, 1989.

Meet a mother who chews gum, looks at picture books, and communicates using American Sign Language. The surprise is that she is a chimpanzee. Washoe was taught sign language by scientists studying whether chimps can use human language. Scientists are also teaching whales and dolphins signals to investigate their communication abilities. These animals appear to communicate extensively with others of their own species. They sing different songs to locate relatives, to coordinate group swims, and to prepare to fight.

primate A type of mammal that is very intelligent and has eyes that face forward, a shortened nose, and opposable thumbs. Most types of primates live together in groups and interact with each other in many ways. Monkeys, apes, and humans are primates.